BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s Bajaj Housing Finance reported a 25% jump in third-quarter profit on Monday, bolstered by strong credit growth.
The country’s biggest home loan financier by market value reported a profit of 5.48 billion rupees ($63.5 million) for the three months ending Dec. 31, compared to 4.37 billion rupees a year ago.
Demand for homes in India, especially premium residences, has remained strong over the last few quarters, which form a key part of Bajaj Housing Finance’s assets.
Residential real estate prices are set to rise steadily over the next few years, driven by demand luxury properties from cash-rich individuals, according to a Reuters poll of housing experts.
Last week, smaller rival PNB Housing Finance reported a 43% jump in third-quarter profit, driven by robust demand for home loans.
Bajaj Housing’s loan assets rose 31% year-on-year to 955.7 billion rupees, while its assets under management climbed 26% to 1.08 trillion rupees.
Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 25% to 8.06 billion rupees.
Its asset quality remained sequentially steady, with gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans standing at 0.29% at the end of December. On a year-to-year basis, however, it was a marginal decline from 0.25%.
The company shares ended 3% lower ahead of the results, amid weakness in the broader equity market.
($1 = 86.2850 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Varun H K)
